Feb. 16, 2008

Recap | Final Stats | Notes

South Carolina Head Coach Dave Odom

“It was a big night for Gamecock basketball tonight. First, I’m happy for our basketball team. They have worked extremely hard to win a basketball game like [the one tonight]. Second, I’m very happy for our fans and our students that supported us so well tonight. I thought it was a good atmosphere and they were very supportive the last several minutes when we needed it the most.”

“Having John Roche back, everybody was excited about having him back. John came into the locker room before the game, and I spent time with he and his daughter. He’s proud of South Carolina.”

“It was good to have Mike Holmes on the court tonight being productive. It’s been a process trying to get him to understand certain thing that he is able to do, and certain things he’s not able to do. Coming out of high school, he was able to do pretty much anything he wanted. Here, he’s had to negotiate taller players, players as big as he is, and he’s had trouble getting shots off.”

“What can you say about Devan [Downey]? He’s Mr. Ever-ready, Energizer Bunny, the whole deal. He did everything we asked him to do.”

South Carolina Players

Devan Downey

[On his last minute shot to win the game] “We had a play designed, but that broke up so I went with option B. We were down and we needed an opportunity to take another shot just in case of a miss. But I was confident and took the shot and luckily, it went in.”

“If anybody didn’t play like they did tonight, we don’t win the game. It’s good to see Mike getting back into things. I’m happy for him.”

[On avoiding another outcome like last week’s loss to Vanderbilt] “I gathered everybody and said get your man and that’s what we did. We were going to make sure that if they [Alabama] scored in the last few seconds of the game, it was going to be over a good defense, not on a miscommunication.”

“I think this game shows that we have matured as a team. Last week we let Vanderbilt come back to win and this time they couldn’t even get a shot off.”

“We were really down in Athens and it feels good to come back and get this win.”

Dominique Archie

“I think the Vanderbilt loss hurt our team. I don’t think we wanted to feel that again, so we stepped up and played hard.”

“Every win is needed. For the games we have coming up, I think this game gives us a good chance to get a good run.”

“Everyone gave great effort tonight. I couldn’t ask for more. We knew we played hard in Vanderbilt and this game. We weren’t going to let what happened last week happen again.”

Mike Holmes

“I was trying to help the team out as best as I could. In practice, coach said to compete and play harder than we did last time. We showed up in the game tonight.”

“Our defense was real good tonight. Coach said to put our defense up and to play hard and step up.”

Alabama Head Coach Mark Gottfried

“We did a lot of things well tonight. We shot 60% for the game. It came down to making or missing a shot. We need to stay positive and keep our heads up. We could just as easily be getting on a plane happy.”

“At one point we played five guards against them with Alonzo Gee being our biggest player. It’s tough when you play down.”

“(Devan) Downey penetrating hurt us the most. He’s good. He was good at Cincinnatti and he made every big shot he had tonight. His last shot was a great shot by a great player. I think it was really deep. Give him credit. Sometimes games come down to a play and hit a big shot.”

(On Devan Downey) “He’s a great player. He’s a great penetrator. He’s a tough guy to contain off the dribble. His penetration leads to lay ups, shots, or passes to open men. He has quick hands, great anticipation, and he gave us trouble tonight.”